Stay
by Mamberz987
Summary: Running through the city, Seto has one last chance to catch Joey and convince him to stay with him before he leaves for good. A oneshot, featuring SetoxJoey.


So, I was sitting at my computer, listening to Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls. And I suddenly came up with this idea of Kaiba chasing after Joey at the airport. I was thinking that, 'Oh, I should write this down. Maybe I can write a story later and use this in it.' So I got to typing, and it turned into its own story. This is most definately the longest one-shot I have written thus far. I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

His feet pounded against the concrete, a steady rhythm following the desperate pounding of his heart against his ribcage. His breath was coming in short gasps, and the stitch in his side was almost unbearable. But he couldn't stop running. To stop would be to admit failure, and failure was never an option for a Kaiba.

That thought alone almost send his feet tripping over one another. Over the last few months, he had come to redefine what it meant to be Seto Kaiba. Instead of an emotionless robot with no weakness, invincible, he had come to a very different meaning. A more human view of himself.

He was now able to look in the mirror and not cringe at the shell of a reflection. He had regained a fiery passion in his eyes. His face had lost its steely aura, though he still remained as intimidating as always. But the most significant change of all was the slightest hint of crinkles at the corners of his eyes.

Laugh lines at his eyes. It almost seemed absurd, but it couldn't have been truer.

And it was all because of one person….

He shook himself out of his inner musings, and found that he had slowed to a walk. He had cut across the park, trying to save as much time as possible. A picturesque summer day, typical of late August, the sky was a deep cerulean blue with not a cloud in sight. The grass was rich and soft under the soles of his shoes. A slight breeze rustled the leaves above his head, and he could hear children laughing and playing not far away.

How many times had he walked through this park without giving it a second thought? Ironic that he had ignored its beauty when he had all the time in the world, but had realized it now when he couldn't afford to slow down. He cursed himself as he began sprinting once again. He couldn't stop. Not now, when he was so close.

Even though he was so young, at this moment time was not something he had much of.

All because of one person….

_Joey_….

A mop of blonde hair shimmered in the light coming in from the bright window. Chocolate eyes narrowed at the pane of glass. The lanky boy felt it would have been more appropriate to his mood if the window has been smeared with dirt, dimming the bright noon sun. Instead it smiled cheerily at him.

Vaguely offended that the world refused to contribute to his uncharacteristic gloom, he turned away from window in hopes of finding an empty seat, but quickly saw that the area was overly crowded. He turned back to the window, bowed his head, and fished around in the pocket of his faded green jacket until he pulled out a slightly crumpled piece of paper.

A plane ticket. Back to Japan.

He had enjoyed this summer in America. He remembered the surprise he could see reflected in cobalt eyes when he had met Kaiba in New York City. It had been three years since they graduated high school, but he had never forgotten the tall brunette. He had wanted to study abroad for the summer, and Kaiba had moved here to open a new branch of Kaiba Corp. Kaiba had invited him to get coffee and catch up on old times, a move that had shocked Joey into a rare silence before a shy smile lit up his face. That was how it all started. A strange sort of romance between two past rivals that had lasted the three months he spent in the Big Apple.

As all good things do, the summer had quickly come to an end. He had to go back to his university in Tokyo. He tried to explain to Kaiba that he couldn't, just _couldn't_, stay in America. That he had to go back, that it would never work, that he needed Kaiba to understand that.

But he didn't understand. Those cobalt eyes had flashed with anger, confusion, and pain. That brief show of vulnerable emotion in those eyes had almost changed Joey's mind. Those blue eyes that once only reflected icy depths were now so expressive. He liked to think that he had changed something in Kaiba's heart. His resolve was fading quickly. To quickly impede the oncoming panic, he promised Kaiba to talk to him about it in the morning. And he enjoyed that night, sleeping in his lover's arms, with a passion of a man who has nothing to live for the next day.

He would not be there in the morning to discuss anything with Kaiba. He would already be long gone. He used his last bit of money to change his flight date to the next morning. He turned off Kaiba's alarm, knowing that he would sleep in without it, and took Kaiba's car keys to drive himself to the airport. He would leave them at the customer service desk, knowing that Kaiba would eventually find a way to get there.

By then it would have been too late.

That had been his plan, at any rate. He hadn't counted on his plane being delayed by two hours. He only hoped Kaiba had slept in really late.

He wouldn't be able to handle saying goodbye to him.

"_Please begin boarding Flight New York to Tokyo, Japan,"_ a voice crackled over the intercom.

Kaiba stood hunched over in front of the airport, hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. He had managed to catch a cab for a short while, before traffic came to a dead halt. He quickly decided that running was faster than waiting to get through construction, so he sprinted the small remaining distance as fast as he could.

He knew he was probably too late already. The plane was supposed to have already left. He prayed to a God he didn't believe in to just keep Joey in America for a little bit longer.

He wouldn't let go of him that easily.

Having already tracked Joey's credit card to see the change in his plane ticket, Kaiba quickly began running into the building of the correct terminal. He ran down the hall, purchasing a random ticket to allow himself access through security, and barreled his way past anyone standing in his path.

He wouldn't let this be the end.

He slowed his stride, counting the gates until he came upon Joey's gate. He felt a surge of relief to see that the flight had been delayed by two hours. He checked his watch. Two hours past the departure time.

His head jerked up to see a line of people already boarding the flight. No! He had to believe that Joey hadn't gotten on yet. Not when he was this close!

He weaved in and out of the crowd waiting for their boarding number to be called, looking for a messy mop of blonde hair. His hope started to diminish, however, as more and more people stepped onto the plane, and the crowd around him grew thinner and thinner. Soon there were only a few people left.

And then he saw it, a shimmer of gold in the bright midday sun. He could recognize that mop of hair anywhere. That faded green jacket that Joey absolutely refused to get rid of had never been a more welcome sight than in that moment. The blonde was facing the window, not seeming to have noticed that nearly all the other passengers had taken their seats aboard the plane.

He slowly walked up behind the blonde. His throat felt so raw. What could he possibly say to make Joey stay?

He heard faint footsteps behind him. He felt Kaiba's presence before he heard that voice that he could never forget.

"I was afraid you were already gone."

His heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help a small chuckle that escaped his throat. He turned slightly, glancing over his shoulder to meet Kaiba's piercing stare. "I had every intention to be. If I actually believed in destiny, I'd say this was fate." The chuckle came back again, but sounding slightly bitter. He couldn't handle all of this. He had so much to return to. Friends, family, school--

"Stay." Joey's eyes widened at the sound of Kaiba's voice cracking ever-so-slightly as the brunette added, "Please."

"_Last call for Flight New York to Tokyo."_

Joey turned back to the window, closed his eyes and sighed. The sun felt so warm on his face, so why did he feel so cold inside? "I have to go," his voice barely above a whisper.

He turned towards his gate, refusing to look back at Kaiba. He knew his resolve would instantly crumble when he saw the pain in those eyes.

He had barely made it three steps when Kaiba chased after him, grabbing his arm and spinning him around. Joey tried to make a feeble protest, but Kaiba cut him off by crushing his lips upon his own. He could feel the desperate fervor between the taller man's lips and matched it with his own.

As they pulled apart, Joey looked into Kaiba's eyes and saw the broken pleading. The brunette once again croaked, voice cracked with anxiety, that one word. "Stay."

Joey opened his mouth to make excuses to why he couldn't, but Kaiba just shook his head, and he suddenly couldn't think of a valid reason. He could find a school here easily, and he would still keep in contact with his friends, right?

He looked down at his ticket, looking slightly worse for wear after being clenched in Joey's fists during the last few minutes.

A one-way ticket to Tokyo.

A flight attendant came up to the couple, politely asking if they wished to board the plane. Joey turned his doe eyes up to Kaiba, silently pleading to understand as he took a step backwards, towards the departure gate.

"I'm sorry," he whispered before turning around and running onto the plane, leaving Kaiba standing alone in the airport.

"Joey? Earth to Joey," Yugi's innocent voice brought Joey out of his thoughts. He turned in his seat in his college classroom to meet the inquisitive gaze of impossibly large amethyst eyes. It was the first day of the semester, and Joey and Yugi shared their first class.

Joey raised a questioning eyebrow, and Yugi smiled. "I asked you, how was your summer study program? You've been quiet all morning. I thought you would have been talking nonstop about all the things you did over in America."

Joey gazed sadly at his feet. _America…Kaiba…._ It had been nearly two weeks since that one day, and he still hadn't mustered the courage to make one simple phone call to a boy he had grown to love. He couldn't make the call, but had spent the last two weeks staring at the phone, willing it to make the call for him.

Yugi sensed the change in the blonde boy. "Joey?" he asked softly. "Did something happen over there?"

Joey gave a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I…" He broke off, looking at Yugi, his best friend. He would go through Hell and back for this short teen. How could he have even considered leaving him here in Japan alone? "It's nothing, Yug'. Nothing."

_Stay…_ Why couldn't he get his voice out of his head?

He felt Yugi's small hand on his shoulder. He looked into those wide eyes, ready to accept anything.

He heard his own voice coming out, unbidden, sounding weary and broken, with maybe the slightest bit of longing. "Do you think they have good schools in New York?"

Just like that, Yugi's eyes seemed to know everything. He didn't know how, but he knew that Yugi knew. That small smile creeping across his face gave it away. "You met someone?" It wasn't really as much of a question as it was a statement.

Joey nodded, unable to continue staring into those large eyes. He began to spill everything that had happened, mumbling to his red sneakers: wandering the city one day, recognizing those blue eyes from across the street, the surprise, the coffee, the smiles, the warmth, the laughter. The three months of romance. The painful departing. The regret. The wondering, _what if…._

The shorter teen smiled gently. "You know, Joey, I'll always be here. So will Serenity, Tristan, Grandpa…everybody. We all love and support you. If you want to go to New York, then go. If things don't work out, you can just come back if you want. I think if you really want this, then you should go for it. It has got to be better than beating yourself up over what might have happened. You should go."

Joey looked up from his shoes, meeting the smiling face of Yugi. He slowly nodded to himself. He paused, wondering if he could really make it work. Maybe.

Just maybe. And that was enough.

He stood up suddently, interrupting the lecturing professor that he had not paid the slightest bit of attention to all morning. He grabbed his backpack and ran out of the classroom, shooting a grin over his shoulder.

The last thing he heard was Yugi laughing that he hadn't meant right that second.

Joey laughed out loud as well, running down the street to hail a taxi.

Tired blue eyes scanned meticulously over the lines of text that contrasted with the bright white background of his laptop. Slender fingers danced over the keyboard relentlessly. Ever since that one day at the airport, the brunette had thrown himself headfirst into his work, rarely stopping to eat. He found that taxing his mind usually kept him from dwelling too much on how much his heart hurt. But not completely.

_I'm sorry…_ He couldn't get Joey's voice out of his head. The image of him turning away from him, running away from him…

A knock at his office door brought him out of his inner turmoil. His head snapped up to see the younger Kaiba timidly step into his office. His heart panged at the lonely expression on his innocent brother's face.

"Seto, please. Can't you stop for a little while? It's late, and…I hardly see you anymore." Grey eyes reached up to meet his blue ones, pleading for him to stop his self-torture. "I know you're hurt, but…," Mokuba paused, seeming to be searching for the right words. "You have to keep going. You can't just spend the rest of your life moping behind your desk."

The tall CEO stood up. He felt tired and weary. "I am not moping, Mokuba. I am working so that we can have a better life." An thinly veiled excuse, he knew. One that his younger brother would see through instantly.

As predicted, the raven-haired teen put his hands on his hips. "That's not true, and you know it, Big Brother. You just don't want to think about how Joey ran away. You're scared to go after him again, because you're afraid to get hurt again. You know I'm right."

Seto found himself chuckling at the stubborn tone of voice that Mokuba used. Three months ago he would have just scoffed, and now he was able to see the humor in it. He had changed so much, and at the same time not at all. This hiding behind his work…it was entirely a Kaiba thing to do. He paused, rethinking that statement. What if he didn't want to be so Kaiba-like? He knew he missed Joey, but couldn't bring himself to call and plead with the blonde to come back. His pride wouldn't allow him.

He flopped wearily back into his office chair. He leaned back on the headrest, letting his eyes slide shut for a moment. He could feel Mokuba's scrutinizing stare, but he didn't bother to stir for a few moments.

"You still have a chance, you know." Mokuba's voice was soft and hesitant.

Seto opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling. A chance? Barely, but it _was_ still there.

"He cares about you. I know he does," Mokuba said more assuredly, seeing that his brother was not outright refusing his chance. "All you need to do is make one little phone call." He slowly backed out of the office to give the elder Kaiba time to think.

As the door softly closed with a barely audible _click_, Seto turned his gaze to the glossy black phone perched atop his the mahogany wood of his desk. His hand reached out hesitantly for it, then immediately drew back.

He growled at himself, frustrated. He hated this nervous feeling. He took a deep breath, grabbed the phone, and dialed the numbers he knew so well.

Joey squinted into the cloudy sky as he stepped out of the airport. He chuckled at the irony. Sunny when he was gloomy, and now that he was excited and hopeful, it looked like rain. He breathed in the crisp New York air.

He realized that it was extremely rash to immediately catch the first flight he could. He knew it was crazy. He had almost no money left; he couldn't afford the cheapest hotel room, and had barely enough cash for a meal or two. Yet, he also knew that he had to come. He had so much energy right now, he couldn't have waited. The nearly unbearably long flight had been torture, sitting still for so much time when all he wanted to do was run or jump or yell. He could make this work. He could. He could stay here with Seto. He smiled, enjoying the sound of that.

He glanced down at the small amount of money he had. It was not enough for a cab. He could have called Seto to see if he would pick him up, but his cell phone was lying, forgotten, in his bedroom back in Japan. He shrugged to himself, not about to let that stop him, crammed the cash into his pocket and began to run.

_I'm back. Seto…_

One pale hand massaged his temple while the other placed the phone back into its cradle. No answer. Seto sighed, chiding himself for allowing his hopes to get up. He should have known that Joey wouldn't want to talk to him. It had been too much to hope for.

The brunette stood up. Well, that was fine. Really. He didn't need some blonde meddling around in his life anyway.

Kaiba sighed at the feeble attempt to convince himself. He really did miss Joey, but Mokuba was right. He could not mope around forever. He grabbed his car keys and strode out the office door. It had been much too long since he had spent some quality time with his younger brother.

He came up to the door of Mokuba's bedroom. He knocked quietly, and a head of raven hair appeared immediately in the doorway. His grey eyes hopefully scanned Seto's face, but then he softly frowned. "I'm sorry, Big Brother." Seto never really understood how his younger brother was able to know these things, but didn't question it.

He knelt down on one knee, and mussed the already messy black hair. He gave a small smile. "It's alright. I'll be fine. I think it's time that we go out and do something, just the two of us. No more work for me tonight."

Mokuba's face brightened instantly, but dimmed somewhat. "But Seto, it's raining now." Seto looked out the window for a moment, then raised an eyebrow, silently asking when a little rain had ever stopped a Kaiba. Mokuba's bright grin returned, and he raced out the room to hurry to the car. Seto chuckled to himself, and slowly made his way to the garage to get his car. He was going to enjoy his time tonight. He wasn't going to think about the blonde. Not tonight.

Joey panted heavily, gasping for air. He gripped a stitch in his side with one hand, the other resting on his knee for just a moment. His blonde hair clung to his face, completely drenched from the rain. He stood in front of the tall black iron gates that bore the Kaiba emblem. After giving his heart a chance to rest and return to its normal beating, he tried to pry the gates open. Locked, of course. He rattled the bars once more, just to make sure. The gate refused to budge.

Joey huffed, eyeing the height of the bars. He nodded to himself. He could scale them. The rain didn't help, as the iron was slick and difficult to grasp. After a few minutes, however, Joey managed to clumsily drop down on the other side. Wincing as he landed awkwardly on his ankle, he scrambled up and ran through the pristine lawn, crashing to a half against the front door. He rang the doorbell and waited. It was late in the evening, and he knew Seto would not be at his company at this hour. Yet, when no answer came, Joey began to worry. What if Seto didn't want to answer for him? What if he didn't want to see him?

Joey's eyes began to sting, and he could feel the moisture building in them. His hand balled into a fist, and he began to pound on the large door. He shouted, yelling for Kaiba to answer the door. It didn't open.

He bowed his head, leaning into the door. What should he do now? His hand made a feeble attempt to continue pounding. He had nowhere to go.

A surprised and pained voice came up from behind him.

"Joey?"

The blonde spun around, and seemed to have lost his voice. There stood Kaiba in the rain, just a few feet behind him. His expensive clothes were slowly becoming drenched and ruined, but the CEO made no move to get out of the downpour.

Joey glanced over to the right, where he could see Seto's car halfway down the driveway. It was turned on, but placed in park. The driver's door was still open from when Kaiba had flung it open and ran toward where he could see the blonde pounding on the door. The rain was blowing in and onto the leather seats. He could see Mokuba staring open-mouthed in his direction.

He turned back towards Seto, and shyly glanced into cerulean eyes that couldn't seem to believe what they were seeing. The taller man's mouth seemed to be having difficulty forming words.

"I…You….You went back to Japan." Seto continued to stare in disbelief.

Joey shifted his weight, and glanced toward the ground. "I came back." He felt his nerves standing on end. This was all so fast, but he couldn't let it slow down. He was afraid that if it did, Seto might refuse him. He knew he had hurt the brunette, but he could do this now. He wanted, _needed_, a second chance.

Those blue eyes that used to be so hard and unrelenting were now uncertain. Seto blinked. "Why?" Could this really be happening?

Joey raised his large amber eyes. His dark lashes stuck together as rain continued to pour down his face. "Let me stay." His voice cracked as he added, "Please."

Seto's eyes widened at the familiarity of his statement. He had asked the blonde to stay in that overcrowded airport. This was real. It had to be. That mop of blonde hair, that faded green jacket…. He took a step forward. When he had pulled out of the driveway, and seen a blonde figure banging at his door, he was afraid that he was simply imagining things. He reached a hand forward until he was able to caress Joey's cheek. The shorter teen closed his eyes, leaning into his hand, and sighed.

This was real.

He took another step forward, and wrapped his arms around him. This, this was what he wanted. He didn't have to be so cold, so stubborn. Joey had somehow changed something in him. He felt more human than he had in a long time.

He wanted Joey to stay.

He gently grabbed his hand, and after motioning for Mokuba to come along, led the three back inside the mansion.

Pausing once inside, Seto turned toward the blonde that he had missed so much. "Stay?" He wanted to be reassured that he wouldn't be gone in the morning.

The blonde smiled, nodding. "I'll stay."

And he did.

* * *

Ahhhh! I can't seem to stop myself from writing corny endings! It's a curse, I tell you!

Oh well, it's already written, and over all I liked it. I'm trying to expand my talents as a writer (which are not much to begin with. n.n) which is proving to be a bit more difficult than I was hoping for. When I write them, they always feel longer than they actually are.

Anyways, I'm rambling. Please, please, please. Review and let me know what you thought of this. I spent FOREVER on this. Well, it seemed that way to me. Halfway through, my computer broke down or something. And I lost half of it. HALF. That's forever in my book.

More rambling. Heh, sorry. Anyways, push that purple button down there! It really wants to be pushed!

I love you all!


End file.
